BANGKOK: Thai authorities have suspended a prison chief in Bangkok over allegations that high-profile Chinese inmates were granted access to women in a private cell and other privileges, the justice ministry said.
The scandal erupted last week after local media reported two Chinese women were allowed into the Bangkok Remand Prison to visit inmates, allegedly to provide sex services, raising questions over who authorised their entry.
The prison detains more than 4,000 men awaiting trial, and has held some of Thailand’s most infamous accused criminals, including alleged Chinese racketeer She Zhijiang who was extradited earlier this month.
The justice ministry suspended on Monday (Nov 24) the prison’s commander and his secretary, a senior corrections officer, according to a ministry statement.
Justice Minister Rutthapon Naowarat said the case involving prison officials “allegedly favouring Chinese inmates” was “being handled based on evidence”, according to the statement issued late on Monday.
In an earlier statement, the ministry said a search of the prison had uncovered “misconduct and prohibited items”, including condoms, tobacco and alcohol.
“Two Chinese women were found alone with an inmate inside a cell that was being renovated to serve as a reception room for senior officials,” it said.
A table, sofa and refrigerator – luxuries not typically afforded to prisoners – were inside the cell.
“Preliminary findings included boxes of condoms, bodily fluid traces on tissue paper and stains resembling semen,” which were sent to forensic investigators, said the statement from last week.
While CCTV footage was deleted, a recovered video showed the two women entering the prison, it added.
Rutthapon told reporters on Saturday that the pair accessed the prison following standard procedures, not via a secret route, which he said suggested that several officials could be implicated.
The two women denied being involved in sex work, according to the earlier justice ministry statement.
Around 20 officers, including the warden and lower-level staff, were accused of misconduct, it said, adding that “no officers were involved in purchasing sexual services”.
Several inmates implicated in the scandal have been transferred to another prison, the ministry said.
Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International ranks Thailand 107 out of 180 countries on its latest corruption perceptions index.
Allegations of bribery and preferential treatment in the country’s justice system are not uncommon.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/thailand-prison-alleged-privileges-china-inmates-suspend-chief-5489216
